Right at the moment, we are in Why, Arizona. So it is only appropriate that one of the very first birds we saw here was the Arizona Woodpecker. This pop-up says they are shy, to which I can only say they haven't met the couple that park themselves on the light pole over the bathrooms here and yell at each other for an hour or so every morning. Very early in the morning. Ahem.

Later on, the same pole often hosts a Loggerhead Shrike who goes through a very similar routine!

In the evening a flock of about a dozen Gambels Quail dash across an expanse of desert scrubland behind us.

There is also a Roadrunner here who is such a familiar part of the campsite that he barely bothers to get out of the way when you walk or drive by.

The birds are only part of it - we've seen Long Tailed Ground Squirrels, Black Tailed Hares, a Desert Kangaroo Mouse, and one Mohave Rattlesnake - whom we gave a wide berth!

Well, I wasn't going to spend a lot of time catching up our sightings today - I was just going to say that the 33rd issue of I and the Bird is up - here at Don't Mess with Taxes. LOL. So go forth, enjoy the interesting travelogue she provides - and I'll be back with more details of my own as the week progresses.

Good Birding